


Shadows

by fractionallyfoxtrot



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 23:22:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6829528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractionallyfoxtrot/pseuds/fractionallyfoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Under the cover of night and shadows Gwaine pays Leon a visit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Camelot Drabble](http://camelot-drabble.livejournal.com/) community and the prompt ‘shadows.’
> 
> Everyone in the Camelot Drabble community has been wonderfully kind and supportive and I'm very grateful for it. Thank you!

Gwaine moved easily through the dimly lit corridors of the sleeping citadel, favoring one side of the hallway over the other. The low burning sconces hung from one wall, keeping Gwaine in the shadows as he passed beneath them.

The walk wasn't long. It was one he'd done before and it was one he could do in his sleep, or in the dark.

The door yielded for him, its heavy, well-oiled latch making no noise as he opened and then closed it behind him. Gwaine pulled off the thin shirt he wore, dropping it on the ground in his wake as he approached the bed, fingers working the already loose laces of his trousers. His boots had to go first and they did, coming off right at the edge of the bed, one and then the other falling to the floor as the bed's occupant finally stirred.

Gwaine had previously expressed his concerns over how heavily Leon slept within the walls of the citadel.

This wasn't the time to revisit that discussion.

Leon turned towards him as Gwaine freed himself from his trousers. His fellow knight was in a haze of sleep that cleared with every second he looked on him.

"Gwaine?" Leon asked, pushing up from beneath his bedding.

"You have to ask?" Gwaine teased, climbing onto the bed and moving towards where Leon had accumulated all the bed covers. "Am I just one of many, Sir Leon? Are there others who bring themselves to your bed at night?"

Even in the dim light of the room Leon's lack of amusement was clear as day.

"You _know_ that's not what I meant."

"It was a joke. I was teasing."

"You're always teasing."

Gwaine straddled Leon's bedding-covered body, running his hand under Leon's chin to bring Leon's head up. The no-nonsense expression Gwaine was so used to on the training field and at round table meetings held firm even as he leaned forward, pushing his other hand gently through Leon's hair.

He let the grin grow naturally across his lips. "I thought you liked that."

Leon swallowed, his jaw tightening under Gwaine's fingers.

"That's not-"

"It's all right." Gwaine coaxed Leon's head back so Leon looked up at him. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

He watched Leon's expression soften, Leon's eyes falling away as his guard came down.

"Gwaine, I don't know if we should do this any-"

Gwaine surged forward, taking Leon's mouth for his own purposes before Leon could finish his sentence or his thought. He felt the hesitant tension return to Leon's jaw but he didn't let up, pressing kisses to Leon's lips until he felt Leon's touch become tolerating, then accepting, and finally, welcoming. Leon's arms wrapped around Gwaine's bare back, pulling their bodies together, which Gwaine took as an invitation to help Leon out of his clothes.

It wasn't long before Leon's shirt and smalls were on the ground next to Gwaine's trousers and boots. Over time they'd become adept at the process, skilled in the use of their hands on each other and knowledgeable as to _exactly_ how to use said hands. Gwaine had been pleasantly surprised to discover that the Leon he came to bed to was more like the Leon he knew on the battlefield than the one who held a position in Arthur's court; he was strong, agile, and had the capacity to be bold when the situation called for it but never more than necessary.

If Gwaine was strength, as a magic bridge keeper had once described him, then Leon was gallantry.

It was that noble-minded courtesy that kept Leon from asking Gwaine to leave when they were done. Gwaine knew he had to leave but Leon never made that request of him. They barely spoke once they both were spent and when they did it was always softly, in hushed tones, as if anything above a whisper would alert the rest of the citadel to their activities.

Gwaine lingered in Leon's embrace, letting the warmth and scent and casual touch of his fellow knight saturate his senses. He tucked his face into Leon's chest, blaming their position and the curl of Leon's arm over his shoulders for making it the only comfortable way to lie.

When he felt the sting of fatigue creep up behind his eyes Gwaine knew it was time to go.

He shrugged out of Leon's embrace and rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed. He had one hand on his trousers when he felt Leon's fingers close around his other wrist. He glanced back to look at Leon stretched towards him.

"You don't..." Leon hesitated and then took a shaky breath. "You don't have to go."

Leon looked so sincere that Gwaine was almost inclined to believe him.

"We both know I do."

Leon held his gaze for a long moment before his hand and eyes fell away. He nodded as Gwaine reached for his trousers.

Gwaine dressed without a word and showed himself to the door, slipping out of the room just as quietly as he'd slipped in. He paused after the latch was closed, pressing his fingers gently to the grained wood of the door. He wanted for a second then pulled his hand back, shaking his head as he began the walk back to his own room, keeping again to the wall lined with nearly extinguished sconces.

All that they had existed in the shadows and it would never come into the light.


End file.
